Hilton Cartwright is the all-rounder Australia need at number six. Rather than a bits-and-pieces player, like Mitch Marsh or Moises Henriques, he is a frontline batsman who also happens to bowl regularly at first-class level.
Neither Marsh nor Henriques would deserve a spot in their Sheffield Shield teams based purely on their batting, thanks to their respective first-class averages of 29 and 32 with the blade.
That’s not the case for Cartwright, who has a batting mark of 44 in his 16-match first-class career, including two tons.
The 24-year-old West Australian is not nearly as gifted with the ball as Marsh, Australia’s most recent Test all-rounder. While it was a luxury to have Marsh as a fifth bowling option, Australia cannot carry a number six who averages 23 with the bat, like Marsh did in his 19 Tests.
Australia require a fifth bowling option, except for on particularly lively pitches where a Test is likely to be short and low-scoring. But such is the potency of their frontline attack that this fifth bowler need not be of Marsh’s quality, just someone who is a regular bowler for their state, rather than a part-timer.
It would be nice to have an all-rounder of the quality of England’s Ben Stokes, someone who can make tons and take five-fors. Until such a cricketer emerges, a player like Cartwright is the best fit.
It is Australia’s batting, not their bowling, which has been their weakness in recent years. The selectors have bitten the bullet and invested in youth to try to fix this nagging problem. So far the results have been largely positive, with two of the three debutants picked at Adelaide showing great signs.
Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw both look well worth persisting with. The third rookie batsman, Nic Maddinson, was always an odd choice and should not play ahead of Cartwright on Boxing Day. From what I’ve seen of Maddinson and Cartwright over the past two Shield seasons, the West Australian is better prepared to play Test cricket.
Maddinson may well be more gifted than Cartwright, but he has significant issues with his temperament, all too often gifting his wicket through impatience. Cavalier batsmen of this sort rarely flourish in Tests.
At Test level, it is not easy for batsmen of any calibre to arrive at the crease and immediately dictate terms to the bowlers. Until Maddinson manages to harness his attacking instincts he is unlikely to become a reliable first-class batsman.
Cartwright, by comparison, is a more compact and patient player.
Unlike Maddinson, he has shown a willingness to scrap for runs early in his innings, when necessary, until he gets set. As a Western Australia fan, I’ve been delighted to see how Cartwright has blossomed since becoming a regular member of the Warriors Shield team last summer.
Batting in the middle order he made 409 runs at 68 last season, to go with eight wickets at 28. That earned him a place in the Australia A side to play a four-day match against India A and he exploited this opportunity. Australia A were struggling at 4-128 in their first innings, with India A having earlier been rolled for 169, when Cartwright peeled off a fluent 117.
Cartwright’s three best Shield knocks this summer each also came when he arrived at the wicket with his side under pressure, rather than once the opposition had already been run into the turf. While Cartwright was first selected for Australia in ODIs – he was in the squad for the recent series against New Zealand – he appears better suited to long-form cricket. He looks to have the temperament and the game to succeed with the bat in Tests.
A strong offside player, Cartwright sweats on any width. His cutting is a feature of his game, as is his driving through the covers. Cartwright showed against India A’s spinners that he’s also confident against spin, regularly using his feet to dispatch the slow bowlers through and over the infield.
His medium pacers, meanwhile, are unlikely to cause any major concern for the Pakistani batsmen. Australia will be merely hoping Cartwright can hold up an end while the frontline quicks rest.
His selection is another bold call from a selection panel which has changed tack by placing faith in youth.
Leigh
Guest
You are right on the money with this article Ronan, great work.
qwetzen
Guest
Late to the party but... "bowls at least one 4 ball every over in Shield cricket" With a SS career RPO of 3.7 then this means he must be bowling balls which result in negative runs...
Goody
Guest
I totally agree, I don't know where the selectors are seeing the good form that's required to represent Australia, Maddinson - had the form, Handscomb - had the form, Cartwright has taken 4 wickets this season in shield cricket, hardly makes him an all rounder
Bugs
Guest
Selectors say no! :-)
bearfax
Guest
And a great Christmas and New year to you and your family Don. Its been fun. We'll have to do it again some time.
Don Freo
Guest
Nah... ...but have a Happy Christmas.
bearfax
Guest
Try reading what I said Don. I did mention tests. Again though you're prepared to play both ends of the court. One minute you talk about Lyons bowling in tests resulting in missed chances, you deny it happens to SOK, I suggest you havent been looking closely and mention as well Shield cricket, and you counter that by implying that because SOK hasnt played more than a couple of tests, that your claim will reveal itself when he has. Talk about the ultimate speculator Don. You're virtually saying Lyon has had bad luck in his test career and use that aganst SOK, who has had only a few tests, as proof Lyon is somehow unfairly judged in comparison. Your logic befuddles me Don, as usual. I think sometimes your sense of reality, is not somehow in this Universe
Don Freo
Guest
Pay attention Bear. We are talking about their Test careers. Let him play some Test cricket and then you can align your opinion with your statistics. They, are however, more likely to align with my opinion.
bearfax
Guest
'There are no missed chances off SOK'. And you know this for certain Don. You've watched every NSW match and determined that no one misses chances from SOK. Boy you know how to distort facts well Don. I've seen examples in the few tests he played. Not many but they happen. Stats dont get into missed chances because they balance out over time. Some bowlers will go through a bad patch for a time while another will have everything being held, then it will reverses. Its probably not at total equilibrium, but I would suggest it is so close that it is statistically irrelevant. Why dont you suggest, like you did before, that SOK only takes the tail enders and Lyon the main batsmen. You argued that one before, until I showed statistically that in fact SOK gets more top batsmen out than Lyon. Check the records if you dont believe. Grasping at straws there Don. Grasping at straws.
Don Freo
Guest
There were no missed chances off SOK. Don't your stats tell you that or is there a limiting aspect of viewing through statistics?
bearfax
Guest
The problem with your argument Don, is that you only SEE the missed chances that your favoured player suffers from, never the ones missed from someone like SOK. That's what I mean by anecdotal evidence. Its used only to support your argument, but is never balanced. You see I dont tend to take favourites. I just assess on results. I dont know SOK personally, and he seems to have some unattractive aspects in is personality. If I based my favour on who was the nicer guy, Lyons would win hands down. But this is the difference between bias and dispassion. I think SOK deserves to be in the Australian side because for the last several seasons he is unchallenged as the most successful spin bowler in the country, poor social behaviour notwithstanding
Don Freo
Guest
That's only because Haddin missed a stumping and Burns dropped a few at short leg. I'd love them to play SOK...just to dismiss SOK conversations and let him fade away.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Actually SOK only played one Test before that Don, not two. In the 3 Tests that SOK and Lyon have played together SOK has comfortably better figures: SOK - 10 wickets at 35 Lyon - 10 wickets at 46
bearfax
Guest
Dont get me wrong Don. I think Agar looks the goods and he has over Lyon a batting prowess. That's why I would suggest he be the second spinner in India. He will probably be top spinner in a few years (after of course SOK has retired)
bearfax
Guest
No, he meant floored Don. He was attempting a knock out blow
Don Freo
Guest
When you suggest my argument is "floored", I am assuming you mean it is flawed. The funny thing is that it is an opinion, not an argument. It is strange that you choose to argue with an opinion. In doing so, you change from Lyon's last 4 games to the last year. Hmmm...you might find one or two wonderful perfornances there.
aPunter
Guest
Don Yes granted I should have perhaps said "we" rather than "you" so sorry, I didn't mean to offend. The argument you have put forward to me for Lyon's continued selection: "Australia’s greatest ever finger spinner" If that is your reasoning, then it is clearly floored since you cannot continue to select a player based on one past stat (total wickets). Even his best supporters would have to agree that he has been dismal for the last 12 months at least.
Don Freo
Guest
There's never anything I "need" to do. You seem rather prescriptive. Maybe there are SOME that do not rate him but they are people whose opinions I don't rate. If you are pouncing on Australia's greatest ever finger spinner because he only took 8 in wickets in his last 4 tests, maybe you need to develop a bit more understanding about how Test cricket works.
aPunter
Guest
If SOK is fit, there is virtually no justication to play Gaz on his current form.
aPunter
Guest
@Basil A great summary of the mythology in respect to Nathan Lyon.